Make waves

By Rebecca Harnik

As a consumer, it is (relatively) easy to change your own lifestyle to become more environmentally conscious, at least bit by bit. And in reality, these changes really do have an impact, no matter how often you may feel like a drop in the bucket.

However, even after buying only fair trade, local, and chemical free goods, you can still do more. You may already be walking and biking; not to mention conserving, recycling, consolidating, and reusing. Ah, you are so socially responsible. But, there is STILL more to do.

Reaching out to others is one of the most important and effective ways of spreading the word on any given issue. Being a college student, such a task becomes infinitely easier. Posters, an essential staple of the college campus, are a super-easy way of spreading word of events and issues, and there are thousands of other like-minded idealists around to recruit.

Talk to your friends, officemates and neighbors about environmental issues. Especially if they have an impact in your area, building a strong community is one of the best ways to strengthen support for an environmental or social issue (i.e. recycling programs, bike trails your city, known toxins in your area, etc.)

Also, as you know, your consumption role can significantly change markets by showing the companies your demands, but an even more effective way to show what you want is to write letters!

Show your love to businesses or companies that you support, and tell them exactly what makes you such a happy customer. With your support they may even increase their eco-conscious practices. Just write them a letter. Snail mail is often more effective here because they tend to give it more attention. Also, you may even get something back! I went through a big 'thank you' letter-writing phase in high school and I got quite a few free products and free lunches back in return.

Give a piece of your mind to companies that are environmentally oblivious, too. You can certainly make an impact here, too. Companies don’t want to have displeased customers.

Another great way to make waves is to write letters to your local representatives about issues affecting your community or bills to support. Whether they are your county representatives or state, the representatives rely heavily on the input of the community to make their decisions. Oftentimes they may be completely unaware of these problems or their intricacies, until their constituents offer advice or opinions, and the representatives are often easily impacted. After all, that’s what democracy is all about.